Cardiff Council to trial see-through bin bags

Residents of Cardiff may have to start using see-through bin bags when disposing of their waste, reports i4u.com.

Cardiff Council is mulling a change from black bin bags to see-through bags in order to help identify residents who aren’t recycling properly, which would be a UK first according to walesonline.co.uk.

Those who are found putting recyclable goods in the clear bags would receive a ‘knock on the door’, while persistent offenders could be handed a fine, which could encourage residents to use recycling bins for their recyclable waste.

The scheme hopes to increase recycling levels in Cardiff as current levels have ”plateaued’ at 52 per cent, some way from the Welsh government’s target of 58 per cent by 2015.

Residents should have no excuse not to recycle, claims Councillor Ashley Govier, Cardiff council’s cabinet member for environment. He highlighted Cardiff’s weekly green bag recycling and food scrap collections.

Commenting on the scheme, Govier said: “There is good evidence to say that we could change black bags to clear bags.

“The view is that it will help with education by identifying people who put incorrect items in their bags. It could well make people think twice about what they put in their bags – there is no need for people to be putting food waste, for example, in their black bags,” Govier concluded.